Love is All You Need
by SuprSingr
Summary: Arnold invites Helga over to his house for their first date after arriving back from San Lorenzo. But what is Arnold to do when Helga shows up fully prepared to discuss every detail of their relationship on their date?


**A/N: **Yay for random One-Shots! :D

**Disclaimer: **I don't own "Hey Arnold!"

* * *

**Love is All You Need**

**One-Shot**

They had just gotten home from San Lorenzo less than a week ago, and Arnold and Helga had had a very serious talk once everything had settled down. Back in the depths of San Lorenzo, Arnold had finally managed to sort out his feelings for the girl, and had confessed everything at the end of their adventure, and even managed to steal a short kiss from her before being interrupted by Gerald himself. Upon returning home, the two had agreed that since the feelings were mutual now, that there was no sense in letting them go to waste, hence their agreement to become boyfriend and girlfriend. As a way of sealing the deal, Arnold had asked her out on their first date. She had agreed anxiously and told him that they could discuss the details of their relationship during it to help make everything 'really official.' He was about to ask her what she meant by that, but by then she'd already kissed him goodbye and left. Of course, he would have gone after her before she managed to get out the door, but the kiss had made his mind go completely blank and killed off his ability to walk or talk.

It wasn't until she showed up at his skylight window, and he let her in that he understood what she meant by 'disuss the details of their relationship'...

She sat on his bed before him, a serious look on her face and brief case sitting next to her. He raised an eyebrow at her, and asked, "Uh, Helga... What's with the brief case?"

Helga merely opened up said brief case in response, and took out a few pieces of paper from inside. She straightened the papers out and answered him calmly, "We're here to discuss our relationship, remember? You want this to work out, don't you?" She stopped in her straightening a moment to give him a suspicious look, as if he were some kind of double agent out to get her.

Arnold blinked, scrunching his eyebrows down in confusion, "Well, of course I do, Helga. I just don't get why-"

"Tut, tut, Arnold." She interrupted him, a smile on her face now that Arnold had affirmed he wanted their relationship to work out. She finished straightening the papers before holding them out in front of her and reading aloud, "For our relationship to work, we're both going to have to fulfill certain requirements. We must go out on at least one date a week to keep the romance alive, you have to kiss me at least twice a week, we must remember to call each other on a daily basis, we-"

"Helga, what are you talking about?" Arnold interrupted her with a baffled look on his face.

"Us, Football Head." She told him irritably, hating being interrupted. "Don't you know how rare it is for a fifth grade romance to actually LAST? If we want this to work out then we're going to have to set some rules, or our relationship will fizzle!"

"Helga, I think you're just being silly. I love you and you love me. As long as we keep that going I'm sure everything will work out just fine." He smiled at her. "Besides, it's not like we're getting married or anything. We're only ten. Don't you think we should just let things evolve naturally?"

"Absolutely not." She answered immediately, a slight scowl on her face at his stupidity. "Haven't you ever seen what happens when people just WING it? We'll be over within a week!"

Despite himself, Arnold couldn't help the strike of fear that rose within him. He hadn't even considered the possibility of them breaking up. Their relationship had just begun. He shook his head, pushing those thoughts out of his head, and giving Helga a patient look. "Helga, as long as we still like-like each other, our relationship will be just fine. Don't worry about it."

"Arnold," Helga began this time with a deep frown digging it's way on her face. "What happens when some girl way prettier and nicer and PERFECT crosses your path again? You don't exactly have the best track record of staying with girls for long periods of time."

Arnold blushed, shooting back defensively, "So I liked other girls before you. So what? The important thing is that we DID end up together in the end. Besides, it's not like you haven't liked other boys before ME."

"Before you, Arnold, all I had was _Barney_. I was THREE! What do you want from me?" She gave him an incredulous look, resting the heels of her hands on her hips.

"Well, you've at least crushed on other boys, right? There was that time you and Stinky went out." He reasoned.

"Oh please, I was only with him to make you jealous. I was paying him with Mr. Fudgy bars for Pete's sake! I'll have you know right now that I have been completely loyal to you. I have not liked any other boy other than-..." Suddenly, she froze, a memory from some months ago coming to mind, and she shut up. She cleared her throat quickly, and held the papers back up to her face so he couldn't see the panicked look on her face. "Anyway, like I was saying before all this, we need to-"

"You've had a crush on another boy before?" Arnold asked with wide eyes. He hadn't exactly expected for her to actually like someone other than him. He'd only brought it up for the sake of argument. He felt a small tint of jealousy when he saw her stiffen even more, confirming his suspicions. He did his best to push the jealousy aside, though, and asked in both curiosity and slight annoyance, "Who?"

Helga mumbled something incoherently and then said in a level tone, the papers still held up in front of her face, "There, now you know, but it shouldn't matter, Arnold, because it was just a silly crush, and _we're_ together now. You said it yourself. And I love you, so..."

"Helga, who is it?" Arnold asked as patiently as he could, considering the fact that he wasn't prepared to have any sort of competition. He'd come into this relationship crush free, and hadn't even considered that Helga may have more than one person she like-liked. He'd just assumed she loved him and only him. _Who else _received a love confession then? _Who else _got some big kiss? Who was this kid that she ALSO liked? That wasn't fair to him! He didn't like anyone but her, and here she was coming into this relationship when he wasn't the only one she liked! "Helga, who is he?" Arnold asked again after receiving no answer, becoming increasingly more paranoid, though he tried to hide it.

Helga sighed, bringing the papers away from her face to reveal a blushing, awkward look. She didn't look him in the eye, though. "You'll laugh at me..."

"Helga, trust me, the last thing I'd ever do is laugh at you." Arnold comforted, really wanting an answer from her.

Helga looked into his sincere green eyes. Crap. She trusted him. She took a deep breath, before admitting in a rush, "I had a short-lived crush on Ronnie Matthews, okay!" She hid her head in her arms in embarrassment and shame.

"Ronnie Matthews?" Arnold asked in pure bafflement. Didn't she hate Ronnie Matthews? ...But then again, didn't she 'hate' him at one point too?

Helga brought her hands out of her head so she could explain herself, "I mean, at first I thought he was just some stupid, dime-a-dozen pop star, but when Phoebe won that contest to go meet him she dragged me along, and it turned out we had a lot in common and I ended up getting a little crush on him. But it only lasted about a week and I haven't seen him since. It was no big deal." She waved it off.

Despite himself, Arnold let out a breath of relief. He realized his actions quickly, though, and composed himself before offering a happy smile. "Oh... Good." His eyes fell into that half-lidded gaze as he looked at her.

Helga, noticing how happy and relieved he looked all of a sudden, smirked slightly in amusement. "Were you actually jealous, Football Head?"

Arnold's half-lidded eyes flew open at her question, and he looked away with a short shrug.

Helga's amusement quickly switched to seriousness again, and she said, "See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Jealousy leads to fighting and betrayel which ultimately leads to break up. We can't have any jealousy in our relationship. Only kisses and hugs and love." She looked back down at the papers in her lap.

Arnold held back a chuckle and smiled, glad that she didn't make fun of him for being a _teensy_ bit jealous. "Whatever you say, Helga."

"See, _that's_good for our relationship. Whatever I say goes. Good job, Arnold, we may make it to our monthaversary after all." She nodded in approval with a smile.

Arnold just gave her a half-smile in response, taking one of her hands in his and kissing the back of it to help reassure her when he said to her in a low voice, "I plan on making our relationship last much longer than just a month, Helga."

Helga's eyes widened at his forward flirting and smirk, and the fact that he'd just kissed her hand may have had a small something to do with it. Her face lit up like the fourth of July, and she giggled girlishly, suddenly feeling absolutely delighted. Arnold really did want a long relationship for them. Oh, she thought she could just die happy right there. A goofy smile blossomed on her face just as she thought of it.

Arnold's smirk evolved into an amused smile at seeing all this. She really was adorable, wasn't she? How could she think for even a second after everything that happened between them in San Lorenzo that he'd not want a long and happy relationship for them? Despite whatever was going on in that enigmatic head of her's, he really did love her. He chuckled at the look on her face, even having to fight a small dreamy smile of his own. This _was_technically their first date, after all. But a frown colored his face as he realized the only thing on her mind for them tonight seemed to be to 'plan their relationship.' Now, Arnold was all for plans when necessary, but most of the time he was more of a 'live in the moment' kind of guy. The fact that she seemed ready to just plan their entire future out for them in the matter of an hour was seriously starting to disturb him. One of the things he loved about Helga was her sponaneity, so having that trait from her lost in a sea of plans and diagrams made him frown even deeper. He really wasn't liking where she seemed to be going with this. But knowing Helga, he was going to have a heck of a time talking her out of it. He decided to just go for it, so he wiped the frown from his face and replaced it with his best charming smile, and he cleared his throat to Helga. "Helga?" He put a hand to her cheek.

Helga blinked a few seconds in a daze, looking over at him with loving eyes. "Yes, my love?"

He blushed slightly at the name, but went on (He'd heard his fair share of pet names when they were in San Lorenzo, so it didn't affect him as bad as it did when she first started saying things like that), "Helga... L-Love, um..." Needless to say, he was still getting used to it. He held her hand tighter in his, hoping to woo her into submission. "Do you really think it's such a good idea to plan out every second of every day of our relationship just to try and ensure it will go on? I mean, if we do that, then we'll chance falling into the category of 'boring, plain couples.'" The idea of any relationship with Helga G. Pataki being the slightest bit boring seemed utterly comical to the young boy, but he didn't faze, instead deciding to place another soft kiss on the back of her hand to help 'seal the deal.' ...And maybe also because he just loved kissing her hand... or any part of her, really.

Helga seemed to be lost in the middle of some kind of daydream, but the slight curve of her face let him know that she'd heard him just fine. The added effect from his kisses wasn't lost on him, either. If that goofy grin on her face got any bigger, it was just going to fall off. "Mmmm..." She hummed to herself, looking slightly contemplative. "Well, I don't know, Arnold..." A sad, more sober look suddenly appreared on her face, and he became instantly concerned. She sighed, looking him into his eyes and confessing, "I just really don't want to lose you, Arnold..."

Arnold smiled affectionately at her reason for all this madness - The brief case, the large files, the serious, take-no-prisoners look on her face. Not that that wasn't appealing in it's own right, but he much more preferred when she was all loving and sweet like she was being right now. He so rarely got to see this side of her before that whenever it came out it couldn't help but excite him. He sighed softly, before he just shook his head and sat back slightly from her while he said, "Helga, I'd rather not live like there's a possibility we're going to break up everyday. I mean, we just got together. And well... I really, really like you, and..." He smiled at her, holding her hand a little tighter. "For now, I'd just like to focus on that. I'm all for making our relationship stronger, but I don't think planning everything out like this is the way to go about it. Now I'll admit, I'm new to this whole... 'love' thing, but... I do know one thing..." He scooted over on his bed so he could sit right next to her, and he smiled again. "And that's that there is no one more perfect for me than Helga G. Pataki, so what need could there ever be to break up?" He grinned slightly.

Well, that did it. Helga grabbed him by his collar and planted a big, mind-blowing, passionate kiss right on his lips, much like back on FTi. Arnold's eyes went huge and he had to take in a sharp intake of breath through his nose in shock at her action, having not expect this at ALL. But before he could fully process what was happening and respond, Helga suddenly pulled away from him and gasped. "Oh, criminy. I'm sorry, Arnold." She scooted a little bit aways from him then, pushing her brief case aside while she did so since it was in her way. "That's just what happens when you get real close to me and say sweet things. I really need to start working on my self control. You'd think that I'd have mountains of it after seven years of practice, but I just can't-Arnold?" As it would turn out, Helga had made an effort to avoid looking at Arnold after she parted lips with him, suspecting he was giving her a very shocked, disapproving look of some sort. So she was pretty surprised when she finally managed to look over at him to see the strange expression he ACTUALLY had on.

He really did have wide eyes and he was looking at her... but it wasn't in the disapproving, shocked way she'd imagined. There _was_ a small tint of shock in his eyes still that lingered, but it wasn't nearly as strong as she'd thought it would be. But the strangest thing about the look he was giving her was that it... it almost seemed like he was in some weird trance.

Before she could think on it anymore, though, his lips were suddenly on her's again. She blinked in shock, and small squeal of surprise came from her in realization that this was the second kiss between them that HE initiated.

As much as Helga wanted to just kiss his little self to death since her lips were in position to do so, she was entirely too confused and shocked by everything that was going on to fully enjoy doing that if she actually went through with the kiss. And so, mustering up all the self-control she had, she pushed him off of her and gasped for air, staring at him with wide eyes. Since WHEN was Arnold passionate about anything? Of course she'd dreamed of this kind of stuff happening, but she'd never actually expected it to HAPPEN.

Upon pushing him away, though, Arnold just blinked a few times and then stared at her for a few moments, looking almost confused. That is until he realized what he'd just done and his eyes went to the size of dinner plates.

Helga laughed a little shakily, nodding her head. "Yeah, uh... What was that?"

Arnold blinked a few more times in shock, surprised by his own actions. Finally, though, he looked at her and laughed very nervously, scooting a little bit aways from her too just as she'd done after she'd kissed him. He gulped slightly, his hands now folded in his lap, and his eyes looking anywhere but at her. "Um... I guess that's what happens when you get too close to me and kiss me for no real reason and then end it quicker than it began... Guess you're not the only one who needs to work on their self control." He laughed again, still sounding nervous and a little embarrassed, a massive blush ever growing on his cheeks.

Helga stared at him for a long moment, almost looking like she was trying to look deep into his soul or something. But finally, a look came to her eyes like she'd just made some decision, before she grabbed her brief case, sat it in front of her, took out all the papers and schedules inside, and... ripped them all to shreds. "You know, for once I think you're right, Paste for Brains. After a moment like _that_ happening between us, I'm pretty sure that our relationship will be just fine." She smiled at him, now closing her brief case of freshly made confetti and pushing it off the bed entirely. She scooted herself closer to him again, snuggling into his side with a contented sigh. "So, you up for a movie, Ronni-I mean, _Arnold_." She grinned up at him and batted her eyes, looking to be the picture of innocence.

Arnold sighed at her, unable to keep from rolling his eyes slightly at her little joke, though he was smiling slightly. He just knew she wouldn't be able to let that go without torturing him a little bit. He got up off of the bed and linked his arm with her's, helping to pull her off the bed. Once she was beside him on her feet, he started in the direction of the door, his arm still linked with her's. "Sure, Ruth-I mean, Helga." He grinned at her.

As the door to his room shut behind the two, the last thing you heard was Helga's voice grumbling to him playfully, "Copy cat..."

* * *

**A/N: **Well, to keep things simple, the storal to the mory is basically that love is all you need to make a relationship really work. If you really, truly love someone, then you're willing to work through the hardships and pain so that you can ultimately achieve happiness in the end, as opposed to just breaking up with them because it's all just 'too hard.' That's what real love is. So I guess that's all I'm trying to say with this. It's a nice message, I think. ArnoldxHelga Forever! :D

Also, addressing the whole Helga liking Ronnie Matthews deal... I don't know, when I watched that episode it always just kind of screamed out to me. I mean, has no one else noticed that little dreamy sigh Helga gave after Ronnie pulled away in his limo, and with her hand on her HEART, no less? I've always wanted to do something with that, because I'd always suspected that Helga liked him. Since the first time I saw that danged episode. When I first got on fanfiction I was surprised to see that no one else had ever mentioned it. But eh, I digress. It was just always something I wanted to address in one of my fics, and now I have. I can die happy now, so yay.

Other than that, I hope you enjoyed. And don't forget to...

_**REVIEW!**_


End file.
